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james-laing
Reviews
24 (2001)
'DAMN IT' this is good
First of all this is one of the best TV shows in the world and the fact that its ended means that its the end of an era.
Season 1 was the best season in my opinion it introduced Jack Bauer, Kim Bauer, Teri Bauer, Tony Almedia, Nina Myers and all the other characters that die in the next episode. The first 12 episodes follow 1 act and thats for Jack to get his wife and daughter back while trying to avoid the authorities, now even though this plot device is overused in subsequent seasons for some reason it still thrills you because you want to see how Jack can achieve his goal. The end of the season had a plot point that was to be mentioned in every season from then on, Teri dying wasn't just to give Jack a reason to decent into his personal hell, it was what defined the show the fact that anything can happen, even when other characters died it was Teri's death that shocked us the most.
Season 2 takes place a year and a half after season 1 and we see a visibly depressed Jack trying to cope with his inner demons and while trying to maintain a relationship with his daugther, he is then thrust in to action by the threat of a nuclear bomb and Nina returns which proves to be difficult for Jack and we are unclear of his motives when she is involved. Its also introduces Reiko Aylesworth who ends up marrying Tony, ahh how sweet. Season 2 isn't better then 1 but is certainly watchable and has epic moments that until the end will bring all the characters together.
Season 3 was a personal season for Jack not only was he addicted to heroin but his daughter was dating Chase who was a filed agent and Jack warned him that, this line of work is one to have a relationship in and he should know. It has one of the most epic scenes in the series when he finally kills Nina, at first i thought that because of this it was the end of the series but it only proved that other enemies will never get to the heights of Nina and never affect Jack on such a personal level. and at the need of the season we see Jack have a minor breakdown form all the stuff that has happened to him through the day.
Season 4 was the re-boot season and was a bit sterile but it showed that happy ending means that there is more to come, Tony and Michelle are separated but they get back together at the end and it re-introduced Mandy a villein that still hasn't been killed, and the whole story again was about a nuclear missile and it introduced other charatcers that made it into other seasons and this was the last time President Palmer would do president things and the Chinese story line which carried into other seasons. Overall season 4 is a good season and a taster of what will happen in season 5.
Season 5 started with a shock, the death of President Palmer, while we have been use to see people die i don't think any 24 fan ever really got over his death and this proved to be a risky pay off because season 5 is considered to best season and while its a very good season its not the best in my opinion. one thing i did like about this series is that the conspiracy is so deep it last for the 2 seasons that followed. And with the death of Michelle Dessler and Tony Almedia, how could the show possibly recover from that.
Season 6 i don't know why this got such a bad reception its a good season, the viewer is much like Jack at this point: battered, bruised and broken. There's a atmosphere of isolation in season 6 because its the first season when no other original characters is in it apart from Jack, but that adds to the epicness, this season we see more of Jacks family and find they are involved with the conspiracy that was in 5. The plot may be similar to season 2 but what made it different was the fact that the bomb went off this time killing 12,000 people. and it also had the killing of Curtis Manning and the score to accompany his death was perfect.
Season 7 was a weird season because it felt like it had been four years since we last saw Jack and his shannagins. This season was good because it saw to return of Tony who was after all the betrayals finding the man who was behind season 5, but Tony was much more darker then previous season and when you compare the tony of 7 to the tony of 1-5 it make you sympathy's for him and how much of himself he lost, he is what Jack never became, i think the reason Jack never became a terrorist is because he had Kim and she was the stone that kept him grounded. Needless to say this season is full of twists and turns and Renee.
Season 8 or The Final season had a lot to live up to and it didn't fail it had one of the most epic stories ever and what i like about this season was that it wasn't just about weapons that could kill millions it was about a treaty that was going to be signed by lier's and this is the pay off of killing Palmer in 5 because if he had lived season 8 would never have happened and Jack is given an emotional and suitable send off for the series and i wouldn't have had it any other way.
10/10
Over the Top (1997)
Cancelled?
For the life of me i can't understand why this show was cancelled, it was funny, charming and sweet but i guess thats not what people want from there comedy. I mean i do watch much darker comedy's but i also watch light-hearted ones and this did just about everything right: the gags came in thick and fast and Tim Curry was perfect as a funny man. When i first heard of this how watching an interview with Tim Curry i thought that it was perfect for him to be in a sitcom. Then i immediately wanted to watch but found that not one website had a episode i almost gave up until i found them, and it was a good sitcom, the first four minutes are really to catch the viewers attention and then you choose whether to watch the rest of it and the first four minutes are brilliant, they really set up the main character and his dry wit. This is probably the only time i have every laughed at Steve Carell, he's not funny in the Office. Finally even though i'm watching this in 2011 and the audience based sitcoms are dated this is a very good one that should have had 10 seasons a movie deal and its own brand of toilet paper. 10/10
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
A final mission. The ultimate sacrifice. One epic adventure.
This game can be summed up in one word: masterpiece. I have played all the console versions of Metal gear solid and found them to be excellent in every way. Granted i played the second one first and didn't really understand it very well, i stopped playing and bought the first one and continued to play that until i finished it and despite the graphics i was still enthralled, this was back in 2004 so playing this game was still very bittersweet. Then i played MGS 2 and enjoyed that even further but replayed it so many times just to get the undertones and the surreal subtext of the the subplots. I have to say that playing as Raiden didn't upset me as much as it did the other fans, but i still was disillusioned by the character change. Then i got MGS 3: Snake eater and i thought that it was an interesting premise to set up all the events that led up to the first two console games, and found the plot to be so multi layered and complex that re-play value was high and seven years later i still play it, never has a game with so many subplots been interesting i thought that only worked on 24 but it did anyway and the emotion that is transcended through it what makes the game better. And now MGS 4: Guns of the patriots, even before the game came out there was the notion th;at this was Snake's final outing and there were rumours that he committed suicide at the end, while i thought this at the end of playing the game i'm glad he didn't as it would have been very anti-climatic. But this game is amazing in every way the controls are better there's more action and the epic story line is one that will keep you playing till the end. For MGS fans who have been wondering what it all means don't expect a revelation scene as such but much of the plot stands that were made for MGS 2 and MGS 3 are explained and its very satisfying when you have one last fight will liquid ocelot. This is a game that fans should definitely play if they have played the previous games and people who have never played it should play the others and then play this so they can understand the meaning of the word: masterpiece.
Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998)
The best movie of the series.
While i'm writing this review, i am actually watching the movie again after about five years and it still stands the test of time and gives such a nostalgic feeling when i watch it. First the story is something that made the movie so good, the gang split up because they have become disillusioned through each monster being the janitor in a mask, so they go there separate ways but it isn't long before they are brought back together for what seems like another jobs. The main point what makes this so good is that the zombies and the other monsters are actually real, which is both a twist and a refreshing change i mean had it been a guy in a mask it would have been very disappointing. The tone of the show as well changed dramatically which is why it's still the best today, the tone is much more darker then the original series with scenes like the original people who live on the getting sent into the river to be eaten by alligators you know that this isn't the same Scooby Do that we grew up with but thats what makes it so enthralling because it's daring and edgy which is what the series needed. Although the rest of the cartoon movies are certainly watchable they will never capture the brilliance that was this movie. 10/10
Commando (1985)
Satire is the name of the game.
Oh what is there to say about this film that hasn't been said a million times before. Well i'll start by saying that this is one of the greatest films ever made, not in a auteur sense and not even in a plot sense, but just the fact that this film is stupid and it knows it. It's not like the 'politicaly correct' action films of now like The Expendables which tries to have a deeper meaning but fails, this films has no point to make and is happy with that. Even though many people discredit this film for having a wafer thin plot thats what i enjoy so much about it, and the one-liners, its like a witty British man wrote them they are so dry they make sand seem wet. i mean what would you rather have a serious film that has no sense of humour that has so many plots it's a cemetery or a film that knows it's stupid but makes up for it with over the top action, macho hero's and big guns and stupidly murderous villains and one-liners.
10/10
The Suffering: Ties That Bind (2005)
one of the best horror sequels ever
First off the story, when i played the first i thought that some of the plot points where the best, you get the answers and in this you get the question e.g. the phone call to torque about his previous jail time, when you play the sequel you finally understand what she was talking about. at first i thought that the monsters in torques hometown was a bit of a lazy idea but as gave it more thought i began to realise that this was a very good idea, because he trying to cut the ties to the demons that have been playing him since childhood, and the character of Blackmore was one of the best twist ever in a game because when you find that he is actually torques dark alter ego created in the depths of his sub-consciences to keep him occupied as a lonely orphan only makes the saying 'the greatest battle lye's within'. the supporting doctor killjoy is one of the most ambiguous people to ever grace a game, even if you complete the game 100 times you may never fully understand if he was actually trying to help torque or if it was all an accident. one of the most epic games ever 9/10
One Foot in the Grave (1990)
One Of The Best British Sitcom's Ever
This show need's no introduction, not only is it the best sitcom ever but it has set the bench mark for other sitcoms but it has also created one of the best characters for us to sympathise with. When i first watched this show i was about 5 so i couldn't understand what a brilliant TV show it was but now i'm older and i understand the show dark undertones and surrealism. Like many great sitcom they have a simple setting so that the writer (in this case David Renwick) can show us that a typical, surburban setting is just waiting to be stripped away and exposed as a dark and disturbing microcosm. My favourite episode is 'The Trial' because it's a very unique episode because it takes place entirely in the house and just has Victor ranting on about his boredom..... and his scab, the reason this is my favourite episode is because i don't think any comedy writers today could write something as perfect as this episode, not Chuck Lorre, Ricky Gervais or the people who wrote 'Friends'. I can also relate to Victor (not the age!) but the fact that he is the only sane person in a world that is completely insane, and through his dry quick wit he is quickly alienated for using this to express his opinion's. the show was not well liked by some but it's their loss because they are missing out on THE greatest show ever. 10/10
Not Going Out (2006)
A very good comedy
When i first watched Not going out i thought to myself at last a comedy that is a comedy, unlike 'Friends' were none of them are funny. Lee mack writes his own material for the show which proves that he is funny rather then most sitcom's where the shows writers write most of the jokes. the show has a simple premise 'a man lives with women, man likes women, women doesn't know man likes her, and her brother (series 2) or ex-boy friend (series 1) will stop at nothing to make sure something happens. but this doesn't take the impact away from some of the best gags and jokes since One foot in the grave or Bottom. another feature that is good is that Lee and Tim deliver the jokes in a deadpan manner rather then trying to act and make a funny joke sound awkward like in the Big Bang theory, some of the jokes are made to pop culture and Lee being in his late 30's may make a joke about something the younger audience may not understand. But all in all a damn fine comedy and i can't wait for series 4, whenever it's going to air. 9/10